National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice Discusses War on Terror at McConnell Center for Political Leadership
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky

As Prepared for Delivery

I'm pleased to be here to discuss with you the defining foreign
policy challenges of our time -- and these are challenging times. We
live in an age of terror, in which ruthless enemies seek to destroy not
only our nation and not only to destroy all free nations but to destroy
freedom as a way of life. Yet we also live in an age of great
opportunities to increase cooperation among the world's great powers
and to spread the benefits of democracy and tolerance and freedom
throughout the world. The defense of freedom has never been more
necessary and the opportunity for freedom's triumph has never been
greater.

In these challenging times, America is fortunate enough to have a
leader like President George W. Bush and I am proud to serve him.
President Bush's foreign policy is a bold new vision that draws
inspiration from the ideas that have guided American foreign policy at
its best: That democracies must never lack the will or the means to
meet and defeat freedom's enemies, that America's power and purpose
must be used to defend freedom, and that the spread of democracy leads
to lasting peace.

This vision stands on three pillars. First, America will defend
the peace by opposing and preventing violence by terrorists and outlaw
regimes. Second, we will preserve the peace by fostering an era of
good relations among the world's great powers. And third, we will
extend the peace by seeking to extend the benefits of freedom and
prosperity across the globe.

The very day of the September 11 attacks -- as smoke still rose
from the Pentagon, and the rubble of the Twin Towers, and that field in
Pennsylvania -- President Bush told his advisors that the United States
faced a new kind of war, and that the strategy of our government would
be to take the fight directly to the terrorists. That night, he
announced to the world that the United States would make no distinction
between the terrorists and the states that harbor them. President Bush
promised that America's words would be credible. And he has proved
true to his word.

Since that day, more than two-thirds of al-Qaida's known leadership
have been captured or killed. The rest are on the run -- permanently.
And we are working with governments around the world to bring to
justice al-Qaida's associates -- from Jemya Islamiya in Indonesia, to
Abu Sayef in the Philippines, to Ansar al-Islam in Iraq. Under
President Bush's leadership, the United States and our allies have
ended terror regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. All regimes are on
notice -- supporting terror is not a viable strategy for the long
term.

And, of course, we must face our worst nightmare: The possibility
of sudden, secret attack by chemical, biological, radiological, or
nuclear weapons and the coming together of the terrorist threat with
weapons of mass destruction. September 11 made clear our enemies'
goals and provided painful experience of how far they are willing to go
to achieve them. We cannot afford to allow the spread of weapons of
mass destruction to continue. For so many years, the world pretended
that important treaties like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty alone
could keep this problem in check. For many years, the world refused to
insist that all nations live up to the many resolutions that it
passed. For many years, the world marked time while the proliferation
threat gathered.

The United States is now confronting the threat posed by the spread
of weapons of mass destruction with aggressive new policies that are
already yielding results. The decision to hold the Iraqi regime
accountable after twelve years of defiance restored the credibility of
the international community and increased the security of America and
of all free nations.

The former Iraqi regime was not only a state sponsor of terror. It
was also for many years one of the world's premier WMD-producing
states. For twelve years, Iraq's former dictator defied the
international community, refusing to disarm, or to account for his
illegal weapons and programs. We know he had both because he used
chemical weapons against Iran and against his own people. Because,
long after those attacks, he admitted having stocks and programs to UN
inspectors. The world gave Saddam one last chance to disarm. He did
not and now he is out of power.

The President's strong policies are leading other regimes to turn
from the path of seeking weapons of mass murder. Diplomacy succeeded
in Libya -- in part, because no one can now doubt the resolve and
purpose of the United States and our allies. The President's policy
gives regimes a clear choice -- they can choose to pursue dangerous
weapons at great peril or they can renounce such weapons and begin the
process of rejoining the international community.

Libya's leader made the right choice and other regimes should
follow his example. We are working with the international community to
prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. And -- with our four
partners in East Asia -- we are insisting that North Korea completely,
verifiably, and irreversibly dismantle its nuclear programs.

As we advance a broad non-proliferation agenda, we also recognize
that determined proliferators cannot always be stopped by diplomacy
alone. But they can be stopped. Through the President's Proliferation
Security Initiative, the United States and a growing number of global
partners are searching ships carrying suspect cargo, and -- where
necessary -- are seizing dangerous materials. Earlier last month, the
President also announced new proposals to close a loophole that
undermines the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, to strengthen
anti-proliferation laws and norms and tighten enforcement. We must
strengthen the world's ability to keep dangerous weapons out of the
hands of outlaw regimes.

We now know, however, that there are two paths to weapons of mass
destruction -- secretive and dangerous states that pursue them, and
shadowy private networks and individuals who also traffic in these
materials, motivated by greed or fanaticism or both. And often these
paths meet. The world recently learned of the network headed by AQ
Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. For years,
Khan and his associates sold nuclear technology and know-how to some of
the world's most dangerous regimes, including North Korea and Iran.
Working with intelligence officials from the United Kingdom and other
nations, we unraveled the Khan network and are putting an end to its
criminal enterprise. Together, the civilized nations of the world will
bring to justice those who traffic in deadly weapons, shut down their
labs, seize their materials, and freeze their assets.

All of these efforts and many others require the close cooperation
of many nations. Across a range of issues, we are seeing exactly
that. I will not deny that there is a great deal of loud chatter out
there. But this noise is obscuring one of the most striking facts of
our time: The world's great powers have never had better relations
with one another. And there has never been a lower likelihood of great
power conflict -- with all the destruction and disaster that entails --
since the birth of the nation state in the mid-17th Century.

In Europe, the threat of another catastrophic, continental war --
omnipresent throughout most of the last century -- has all but
disappeared. The vision of a Europe whole, free, and at peace -- the
dream of centuries -- is closer to reality than at any time in
history. NATO and EU enlargement are erasing the last lines of the
Cold War and advancing freedom to all of Europe. In fact, the Central
and East European countries, once members of the Warsaw Pact, have
taken up their duties in the defense of freedom in Iraq and
Afghanistan. In Russia, we are seeing that the path to democracy is
uneven and the nation's success not yet assured. Yet, we are working
closer than ever with Russia on common problems.

For many years, it was thought that it was not possible to have
good relations with all of Asia's powers. It was thought that good
relations with China came at the expense of good relations with our
ally Japan, and good relations with India came at the expense of
constructive engagement with Pakistan. This President has changed this
paradigm. Our Asian alliances have never been stronger. Forces from
Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines have
made important contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan. And we are
building a candid, cooperative, and constructive relationship with
China that embraces our common interests but still recognizes our
considerable differences about values.

And we are working with the nations of Africa and Latin America to
promote prosperity, fight disease, and solve regional conflicts. The
Millennium Challenge Account is revolutionizing the way America
provides aid to developing countries by linking new assistance to good
governance, investment in people, and economic freedom. The Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief -- a five-year, $15 billion initiative -- will
help to prevent seven million new infections, treat at least two
million people with life-extending drugs, and provide care for ten
million more people affected by the disease. The President's
leadership in forging peace in Africa has brought hope to Liberians,
Congolese, and Sudanese for the first time in many decades. In our own
neighborhood, President Bush has re-energized negotiations on the Free
Trade of the Americas agreement, and completed Free Trade Agreements
with Chile and five Central American democracies.

As we move forward with this ambitious agenda, we must never lose
sight of a central truth: Lasting peace and long-term security are
only possible through the advance of prosperity, liberty, and human
dignity. The War on Terror -- like the Cold War -- is as much a
conflict of visions as a struggle of armed force. The terrorists offer
suicide, death, and pseudo-religious tyranny. America and our allies
seek to advance the cause of liberty and defend the dignity of every
person. We seek, in President Bush's words, "the advance of freedom,
and the peace that freedom brings."

That means, above all, addressing what leading Arab Intellectuals
have called the "freedom deficit" in the Middle East. The stakes could
not be higher. If the Middle East is to leave behind stagnation,
tyranny, and violence for export, then freedom must flourish in every
corner of the region.

That is why the United States is pursuing a forward strategy of
freedom for the Middle East. Freedom must be freely chosen, and we
will seek out and work with those in the Middle East who believe in the
values, habits, and institutions of liberty. We will work with those
who desire to see the rule of law, freedom of the press, religious
liberty, limits on the power of the state, and economic opportunity
thrive in their own nations. And we will encourage the full
participation of women. Today is International Women's Day -- a day to
reflect on past achievements and on the challenges ahead. In the
Middle East alone, recent years have seen much progress. Women and
girls can now go to school in Afghanistan. In Iraq, women are
overcoming decades of oppression and are participating in the
rebuilding of their nation. Morocco has a diverse new parliament, and
King Mohammed has urged it to extend the rights of women. Yet more
must be done. As President Bush has said, "No society can succeed and
prosper while denying basic rights and opportunities to the women of
their country."

Iraq and Afghanistan are vanguards of this effort to spread
democracy and tolerance and freedom throughout the Greater Middle
East. Fifty million people have been liberated from two of the most
brutal and dangerous tyrannies of our time. With the help of over
sixty nations, the Iraqi and Afghan peoples are now struggling to build
democracies, under difficult conditions, in the rocky soil of the
Middle East.

In January, Afghanistan approved a new and progressive
constitution. And later this year, the Afghan people will hold
national elections. Every day Iraqis take more responsibility for
their nation's security -- from guarding facilities, to policing their
streets, to rebuilding the infrastructure that Saddam Hussein neglected
for decades. The Iraqi people are making daily progress toward
democracy. We are working with Iraqis and the United Nations to
prepare for a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty. And today, members
of Iraq's Governing Council signed a new Transitional Administrative
Law. This historic document protects the rights of all Iraqis and
moves the country toward a democratic future.

In Iraq, the work of building democracy is opposed by hold-outs
among their former oppressors and by foreign terrorists. These killers
seek to advance their ideology of murder by halting all progress toward
democracy and a better future. They are trying to shake the will of
our country and our friends. They are killing innocent Iraqis. They
are sowing a reign of terror. But we and the people of Iraq will never
be intimidated by thugs and assassins because America and her forces
will stay the course until the job is done.

The world is watching. The failure of democracy in Iraq and
Afghanistan would condemn millions to misery and embolden terrorists
around the world. The defeat of terror and the success of freedom in
those nations will serve the interests of our Nation, because free
nations do not sponsor terror and do not breed the ideologies of
murder. And success will serve our ideals, as free and democratic
governments in Iraq and Afghanistan inspire hope and encourage reform
throughout the greater Middle East. We cannot falter, and we will not
fail.

The work of building democracy in these nations is hard, and
success will require the work of a generation. Winning the Cold War
was not easy, either -- and it took forty years -- but the free world's
alliance of strength and conviction prevailed, because we never
abandoned our values or our responsibilities. As in the Cold War,
progress may at times seem halting and uneven. Times of the greatest
strategic importance can also be times of great turbulence. It is
always easier for Presidents, no less than citizens, to do the expected
thing, to follow the accepted path. Boldness is always criticized;
change is always suspect. Yet Presidents from Teddy and Franklin
Roosevelt, to Harry Truman, to Ronald Reagan knew that history is the
final judge. And I can tell you, like those Presidents, this President
knows that his obligation is not to the daily headlines, but to
securing the peace and that it is history that will be the final
judge.

I remember serving on the National Security Council staff a dozen
years ago, when the Berlin Wall fell, the Warsaw Pact dissolved, and
the Soviet Union gave way to a free Russia. It was, of course,
exhilarating to be in government at such a time, and part of me felt
some small measure of pride. But that pride quickly gave way to a
humble awe for the giants who faced the great challenges of the
post-World War Two moment -- the Trumans, the Marshals, the Achesons,
the Kennans, and to those who re-imagined and revitalized the
struggle: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and George
Herbert Walker Bush.

These men and women in the most uncertain of times, amidst often
noisy acrimony, made decisions that would bear fruit only years, in
some cases decades, later. My colleagues and I were simply reaping the
harvest that they had sown.

That harvest --a safer, freer, better world -- is no less our hope
for the decisions the United States and our allies and friends are
making today. Realizing this vision may take decades. It certainly
will not happen on my watch or on this President's watch. It will
require a commitment of many years.